Dr. Eric Richardson completed his PhD in Clinical and Community Psychology from Wichita State University, specializing in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for adults. He completed his internship at The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center and Oklahoma City VA Consortium with an emphasis in Primary Care Psychology. Since then, Eric has been serving Veterans at the VA – first by delivering all virtual care to rural Veterans across the mountain west, and now for the Cheyenne, Wyoming VA Medical Center.

Eric is also the founder of VFR Wellness, an organization created to better serve pilots and air traffic controllers. His passion for aviation began early – sparked by countless hours on a 90s flight simulator, living under the flight path of Salt Lake International Airport, and staring up in awe at his late father’s collection of self-built RC planes hanging in the garage.

Today as a psychologist, Eric’s focus has shifted to a critical and often overlooked area: Aviation Mental Health. Through conversations and clinical work with pilots and aviation professionals, he discovered how the community comes up against multiple barriers to care: scheduling, access, stigma, and most importantly fear of how care might impact their medical clearance. Drawing on his training in preventive mental health, Eric developed a solution: helping pilots and controllers strengthen their psychological well-being before concerns become symptoms of a psychiatric diagnoses or impact functioning including their careers and hobbies. Eric’s mission, and that of VFR Wellness, is to equip members of the aviation community with the evidence-based tools to focus on their Values by becoming more psychologically Flexible and Resilient.

Eric is licensed to provide therapy services in 43 states. He offers both traditional therapy services and specialized preventive therapy services. Whether you are a pilot or controller hoping to take advantage of his specialized offerings for the aviation community, or someone who keeps your feet firmly planted on the ground, you will benefit from Eric’s expertise. Eric works with broad range of concerns including:

• Anxiety/stress
• Depression
• Trauma
• Sleep Difficulties
• Chronic Pain and
• Illness
• Alcohol and substance use patterns
• General Wellbeing

Eric uses CBT and ACT – two therapies proven to work across those concerns and multiple others, to help you manage your current symptoms and to build Values-based psychological Flexibility and Resilience